Potassium was discovered by sir Humphry Davy in 1807. The element was not known in Roman times so its names are not classical Latin but neo-latin. Unntil the 18th century, there was no distinction between potassium and sodium. This was due to early chemists not recognizing that "vegetable alkali" ( potassium carbonate, from deposits in the earth) and "mineral alkali" ( sodium carbonate, from wood ashes) are different from each other. Later, a distinction was made.
Potassium was discovered by sir Humphry Davy in 1807. The element was not known in Roman times so its names are not classical Latin but neo-latin. Unntil the 18th century, there was no distinction between potassium and sodium. This was due to early chemists not recognizing that "vegetable alkali" ( potassium carbonate, from deposits in the earth) and "mineral alkali" ( sodium carbonate, from wood ashes) are different from each other. Later, a distinction was made.
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